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Lincoln
Lincoln is a 2012 historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.6 The film also features Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, and Tommy Lee Jones in supporting performances. The screenplay by Tony Kushner was loosely based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and covers the final four months of Lincoln's life, focusing on his efforts in January 1865 to have the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution passed by the United States House of Representatives. The film was produced by Spielberg and frequent collaborator Kathleen Kennedy, through their respective production companies, Amblin Entertainment and theKennedy/Marshall Company. Filming began October 17, 2011,7 and ended on December 19, 2011.8 Lincoln premiered on October 8, 2012 at the New York Film Festival. The film was co-produced by American companies DreamWorks Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Participant Media, with Indian company Reliance Entertainment, and released theatrically by Touchstone Pictures in North America on November 9, 2012.9103 The film was distributed by Fox in international territories.11 Lincoln received significant praise for the acting, especially Day-Lewis's performance, as well as Spielberg's direction, and production values. In December 2012, the film was nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director for Spielberg and winning Best Actor (Motion Picture – Drama) for Day-Lewis. At the 85th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for twelve Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director; it won for Best Production Designand Best Actor for Day-Lewis.12 The film was also a commercial success, grossing over $275 million at the box office.5 Plotedit In January 1865, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln expects the Civil War to end soon, with the defeat of the Confederate States. He is concerned that his 1863Emancipation Proclamation may be discarded by the courts after the war, and the proposed Thirteenth Amendment will be defeated by the returning slave states. He feels it imperative to pass the amendment beforehand, to remove any possibility that freed slaves might be re-enslaved. The Radical Republicans fear the amendment will be defeated by some who wish to delay its passage; support from Republicans in the border states is not yet assured. The amendment also requires the support of several Democratic congressmen to pass. With dozens of Democrats being lame ducks after losing their re-election campaigns in the fall of 1864, some of Lincoln's advisors believe he should wait for a new Republican-heavy Congress. Lincoln remains adamant about having the amendment in place before the war is concluded and the southern states readmitted. Lincoln's hopes rely upon the support of Francis Preston Blair, a founder of the Republican Party whose influence could win over members of the western and border state conservative faction. With Union victory in the Civil War highly likely, but not yet secured, and with two sons serving in the Union Army, Blair is keen to quickly end hostilities before the spring thaw arrives and the armies are able to march again. Therefore, in return for his support, Blair insists that Lincoln allow him immediately to engage the Confederate government in peace negotiations. Yet Lincoln knows that significant support for the amendment comes from Radical Republicans, for whom negotiated peace is unacceptable. Unable to proceed without Blair's support, Lincoln reluctantly authorizes Blair's mission. In the meantime, Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward work to secure Democratic votes for the amendment. Lincoln suggests they concentrate on the lame duck Democrats, as they will feel freer to vote as they choose, and will also soon need employment; Lincoln will have many federal jobs to fill as he begins his second term. Though Lincoln and Seward are unwilling to offer monetary bribes to the Democrats, they authorize agents to contact Democratic congressmen with offers of federal jobs in exchange for their support. Meanwhile, Lincoln's son, Robert, returns from law school and announces his intention to enlist in the Union Army, hoping to earn a measure of honor and respect outside of his father's shadow before the war's end. Lincoln reluctantly secures an officer's commission for Robert. The First Lady is aghast, fearing that he will be killed. She furiously presses her husband to pass the amendment and end the war, promising woe upon him if he should fail. At a key moment in the debate, racial-equality advocate Thaddeus Stevens agrees to moderate his position and argue that the amendment represents only legal equality, not a declaration of actual equality. Meanwhile, Confederate envoys are ready to meet with Lincoln to discuss terms for peace, but he instructs they be kept out of Washington, as the amendment approaches a vote on the House floor. Rumor of their mission circulates, prompting both Democrats and conservative Republicans to advocate postponing the vote. But in a carefully worded statement, Lincoln denies there are envoys in Washington, and the vote proceeds, passing by a margin of just two votes. Black visitors to the gallery celebrate, and Stevens returns home to his "housekeeper" and lover, a black woman. When Lincoln meets with the Confederates, he tells them slavery cannot be restored, as the North is united for ratification of the amendment, and several of the southern states' reconstructed legislatures would also vote to ratify. As a result, the peace negotiations fail and the war continues. On April 3, Lincoln visits the battlefield at Petersburg, Virginia, where he exchanges a few words with Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. Six days later, Grant receives General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. On April 14, Lincoln is meeting members of his cabinet to discuss future measures to enfranchise blacks, when he is reminded that First Lady is waiting to take them to their evening at Ford's Theatre. That night, while Lincoln's son Tad is watching Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp at Grover's Theatre, the manager suddenly stops the play to announce that the President has been shot. The next morning Lincoln dies;Secretary of War Edwin Stanton declares, "Now he belongs to the ages". The film closes with a flashback to Lincoln delivering his second inaugural address. Castedit ; Lincoln household * Daniel Day-Lewis as U.S. President Abraham Lincoln13 * Sally Field as First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln14 * Gloria Reuben15 as Elizabeth Keckley, a former slave who was dressmaker and confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln. * Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Robert Todd Lincoln16 * Gulliver McGrath as Tad Lincoln17 * Stephen Henderson as Lincoln's valet William Slade18 * Elizabeth Marvel as Mrs. Jolly18 * Bill Camp as Mr. Jolly ; Union Army * Adam Driver as Lincoln's telegraph operator, historically Grant's operator, Samuel Beckwith18 * Jared Harris as Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant18 * Asa-Luke Twocrow as Lieutenant Colonel Ely S. Parker, a Native American Military Secretary to Grant and drafter of the terms of the Confederate Army's surrender at Appomattox Court House19 * Colman Domingo as Private Harold Green18 * David Oyelowo as Corporal Ira Clark20 * Lukas Haas as First White Soldier18 * Dane DeHaan as Second White Soldier18 ; White House * David Strathairn as Secretary of State William H. Seward21 * Bruce McGill as Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton22 * Joseph Cross as Major John Hay, Lincoln's military secretary * Jeremy Strong as John George Nicolay, Lincoln's private secretary1518 * Grainger Hines as Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles23 * Richard Topol as Attorney General James Speed18 * Dakin Matthews as Secretary of the Interior John Palmer Usher1518 * Walt Smith as Secretary of the Treasury William P. Fessenden23 * James Ike Eichling as Postmaster General William Dennison23 ; House of Representatives * Tommy Lee Jones as Republican Congressman Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania.16 A leader of the Radical Republicans and a fervent abolitionist, Stevens feared that Lincoln would "turn his back on emancipation."24 * Lee Pace as Democratic Congressman Fernando Wood of New York * Peter McRobbie as Democratic Congressman George H. Pendleton of Ohio, leader of the Democratic opposition * Bill Raymond as Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax of Indiana, a Republican * David Costabile as Republican Congressman James Ashley of Ohio15 * Stephen Spinella as radical Republican Congressman Asa Vintner Litton18 * Michael Stuhlbarg as Democratic Congressman George Yeaman of Kentucky18 * Boris McGiver as Democratic Congressman Alexander Coffroth of Pennsylvania15 * Walton Goggins as Democratic Congressman Clay Hawkins of Ohio25 * David Warshofsky as Congressman William Hutton, whose brother died in the war15 * Michael Stanton Kennedy as Republican Congressman Hiram Price of Iowa * Raynor Scheine as Republican Congressman Josiah S. "Beanpole" Burton of Missouri * Christopher Evan Welch as Clerk of the House Edward McPherson ; Republican Party * Hal Holbrook as Francis Preston Blair.15 Blair was an influential Republican politician who tried to arrange a peace agreement between the Union and the Confederacy. Holbrook had previously portrayed Lincoln in the 1976 miniseries Carl Sandburg's Lincoln and in the 1980s North and South miniseries.18 * James Spader as Republican Party operative William N. Bilbo. Bilbo had been imprisoned but was freed by Lincoln, and then lobbied for passage of the Thirteenth Amendment.15 * Tim Blake Nelson26 as lobbyist Richard Schell. (Schell was a Democratic lobbyist who worked with Republicans to obtain votes in the House for passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.) * John Hawkes as Republican operative15 Colonel Robert Latham * Byron Jennings15 as Conservative Republican Montgomery Blair, son of Francis Preston Blair18 * Julie White as Elizabeth Blair Lee. Lee was the daughter of Francis Preston Blair, and wrote hundreds of letters documenting events during the Civil War.18 * S. Epatha Merkerson as Lydia Smith: Smith was Thaddeus Stevens' biracial housekeeper.18 * Wayne Duvall as Radical Republican Senator Benjamin "Bluff Ben" Wade * John Hutton as Senator Charles Sumner23 ; Confederate States * Jackie Earle Haley as Confederate States Vice President Alexander H. Stephens27 Stephens had served with Lincoln in Congress as Whig party representatives from 1847 to 1849. He met with Abraham Lincoln on the steamboat River Queen at the unsuccessful Hampton Roads Conference on February 3, 1865 * Gregory Itzin as John Archibald Campbell.18 Campbell was a former Supreme Court Justice who had resigned at the start of war and then served as Assistant Secretary of War in the Confederate government. He was also a member of the Confederate delegation that met with Lincoln at the Hampton Roads Conference. * Michael Shiflett as the third Confederate delegate to Hampton Roads, Senate President Robert M. T. Hunter * Christopher Boyer (non-speaking role) as Robert E. Lee Productionedit Developmentedit While consulting on a Steven Spielberg project in 1999, Goodwin told Spielberg she was planning to write Team of Rivals, and Spielberg immediately told her he wanted the film rights.28 DreamWorks finalized the deal in 2001,29 and by the end of the year, John Logan signed on to write the script.30 His draft focused on Lincoln's friendship with Frederick Douglass.31 Playwright Paul Webb was hired to rewrite and filming was set to begin in January 2006,29 but Spielberg delayed it out of dissatisfaction with the script.32 Liam Neeson said Webb's draft covered the entirety of Lincoln's term as President.33 Tony Kushner replaced Webb. Kushner considered Lincoln "the greatest democratic leader in the world" and found the writing assignment daunting because "I have no idea made him great; I don't understand what he did any more than I understand how William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet or Mozart wrote Così fan tutte." Kushner said Lincoln's abolitionist ideals made him appealing to a Jewish writer, and although he feltLincoln was Christian, he noted the president rarely quoted the New Testament and that his "thinking and his ethical deliberation seem very talmudic".34 By late 2008, Kushner joked he was on his "967,000th book about Abraham Lincoln".35 Kushner's initial 500-page draft focused on four months in the life of Lincoln, and by February 2009 he had rewritten it to focus on two months in Lincoln's life when he was preoccupied with adopting the Thirteenth Amendment.33 Castingedit Spielberg first approached Daniel Day-Lewis about the project in 2003, but Day-Lewis turned down the part at the time, believing the idea of himself playing Lincoln to be "preposterous".36 Liam Neeson was then cast as Lincoln in January 2005, having previously worked with Spielberg in Schindler's List.29 In preparation for the role, Neeson studied Lincoln extensively.37 However, in July 2010, Neeson left the project, saying that he had grown too old for the part. Neeson was 58 at the time, and Lincoln, during the time period depicted, was 55 and 56.38 In an interview with GQ Neeson stated that he realized during a table read that the part was not right for him in "a thunderbolt moment" and after the read requested that Spielberg recast his role.39 Co-star Sally Field, in a 2012 PBS interview, intimated that Neeson's decision was influenced by the death of his wife Natasha Richardson less than a year earlier.4041 In November 2010, it was announced that Day-Lewis would replace Neeson in the role.42 While promoting Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in May 2008, Spielberg announced his intention to start filming in early 2009,43 for release in November, ten months after the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.28 In January 2009, Taunton and Dighton, Massachusetts were being scouted as potential locations.44 Spielberg arranged a $50 million budget for the film, to please Paramount Pictures CEO Brad Grey, who had previously delayed the project over concerns it was too similar to Spielberg's commercially unsuccessful Amistad (1997). Spielberg had wanted Touchstone Pictures – which agreed to distribute all his films from 2010 – to distribute the film, but he was unable to afford paying off Paramount, which had collaborated with DreamWorks on the film's development.45 Filmingedit Filming took place in Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Petersburg, Virginia. In reference to Petersburg, according to location manager Colleen Gibbons, "one thing that attracted the filmmakers to the city was the 180-degree vista of historic structures" which is "very rare".46 The Virginia State Capitol served as the exteriors and interiors of the U.S Capitol, and the exteriors of the White House. The House of Delegates inside the building was remodeled to fit for The House of Representatives Chamber set. Scenes representing Grovers Theatre were filmed in Fredericksburg, Virginia, at Virginia Repertory Theatre's November Theatre.47 Musicedit John Williams composed and conducted the score. The score was recorded by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Chorus.4849 The soundtrack album was released by Sony Classical on November 6, 2012. All music was composed by Williams, except "Battle Cry of Freedom," which was written in 1862 by American composer George Frederick Root (1820–1895) during theAmerican Civil War. Category:2012 films Category:20th Century Fox films